Translation guide
The English word "sterile" has several distinct meanings. This guide breaks them down into practical categories: medical cleanliness, inability to reproduce, and lack of creativity or vitality. Each meaning has its own natural Japanese expressions.
Describing something that is completely clean and free of microorganisms, often in medical or laboratory contexts.
The most direct and common term for 'sterile' in medical/scientific contexts. It literally means 'no bacteria'.
手術室は無菌状態に保たれている。
The operating room is kept in a sterile condition.
Refers to the process of sterilization or the state of having been sterilized. Often used for equipment.
滅菌した器具を使ってください。
Please use sterilized instruments.
Means 'sterilization' in the sense of killing bacteria, but can also mean 'disinfection'. Not always perfectly synonymous with 'sterile', but often used in everyday contexts.
この石鹸は殺菌効果があります。
This soap has a sterilizing effect.
Means 'clean' or 'hygienic'. Not as strong as 'sterile', but often used in everyday language when 'sterile' might be used loosely in English.
傷口を清潔に保ってください。
Keep the wound sterile/clean.
Describing a person, animal, or plant that cannot reproduce.
The standard medical/biological term for infertility or sterility in humans and animals.
彼は不妊症と診断された。
He was diagnosed as sterile.
Adjectival form of 不妊, used to describe someone or something as sterile.
不妊のカップルのための治療法がある。
There are treatments for sterile couples.
A more formal or biological term meaning 'unable to reproduce'.
その動物は生殖不能であることがわかった。
The animal was found to be sterile.
Literally 'seedless', used for plants or fruits that are sterile or seedless. Can be used colloquially for animals, but may sound blunt.
Describing something that is dull, uninspired, or barren, such as a discussion, environment, or artistic work.
Means 'barren' or 'unproductive'. Commonly used for discussions, efforts, or land that yield nothing.
その会議は不毛な議論に終わった。
The meeting ended in a sterile debate.
Means 'dry and tasteless', often used for writing, speech, or style that lacks interest or emotion.
Means 'lifeless' or 'lacking vitality'. Used for performances, atmospheres, or expressions.
その演奏は生気がなく、感動しなかった。
The performance was sterile and didn't move me.
無菌 (mukin) means 'sterile' in the sense of free from germs. 不妊 (funin) means 'sterile' in the sense of unable to have children. They are not interchangeable.
In everyday English, 'sterile' is sometimes used loosely to mean 'very clean'. In Japanese, 清潔 (seiketsu) is sufficient for 'clean/hygienic', while 無菌 (mukin) is reserved for truly sterile medical environments.
Seedless watermelons are produced from sterile plants.
彼の講演は無味乾燥で退屈だった。
His lecture was sterile and boring.
Describes a place or scene that is bleak, dreary, or lacking warmth. Can be used for a sterile environment.
病院の待合室は殺風景で、落ち着かなかった。
The hospital waiting room was sterile and unsettling.